Suzanne Brockman

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WK-Ms. Brockmann is also the author of several non-SEALs romances and another series for Mira dealing with Team 10 of her fictional SEALs groups. Scenes of Passion is the July release from Ms. Brockmann that is non-SEALs related. Thank you for being here Ms. Brockmann.

SB- Thank you for inviting me back! It's a pleasure to be here! 

JR - I read and post on your bulletin board quite a lot. I've noticed that there have been some major discussions on yours and other boards with regards to Sam/Alyssa/Mary Lou. Did you ever imagine that Sam's story (he's the SEAL) would create such a love or hate relationship among your readers?

SB- I hoped their story would create a stir when I planned out Sam and Alyssa's story arc. My original intention was to tell their story over the course of seven books, not six! But after OVER THE EDGE, my editor told me that Ballantine wouldn't be able to guarantee my safety (she was kidding!) if I waited that long to bring them some kind of closure. She wanted five, we compromised at six. 

It's always been my dream to create a series of books with characters that capture readers' attention so completely -- so watching the reader response to Sam and Alyssa has been enormously gratifying for me. To be honest, I didn't really expect the intensely passionate response to the characters, to the books, and even to me as a writer. At first I was a little taken aback, but it didn't take me long to realize that a passionate response is a positive response, regardless of the emotions involved. I've gotten some pretty vitriolic emails from angry readers who were upset by my stretching the traditional HEA boundaries of romance with these major secondary characters who didn't get their lives neatly tied up in a bow by the end of the books. Frankly, I'd far prefer anger to a "ho-hum, your book was all right... yawn..." kind of response. 

JR - I know that you originally outlined your books in this series, so you pretty much had the storylines worked out in advance. Hearing and reading all the commotion about Sam and Mary Lou, did you change anything in your storyline or did you stick with your original intent?

SB- Keep in mind that by the time a book comes out, I've already finished writing the next book in the series. It's hard to make changes at that point, even if I wanted to. (And I would never want to. The only people who can change my mind regarding my story outlines are my characters. Did you know that I originally intended Gina, from OVER THE EDGE, to die on board the hijacked plane? Well, she let me know in no uncertain terms that SHE would not be dying in this book, thank you very much. I had to bow to her -- and I admit she was right. Killing her would have been too much, too awful. What she went through was bad enough...) I have, however, gone back in and made sure character motivation and actions were ab-so-lute-ly clear. (Particularly regarding Sam who was vilified by those readers swayed by Mary Lou's point of view! LOL!) 

Mary Lou and Sam (and Alyssa) are all human. They all make mistakes, they all have flaws. No one's wrong, no one's the "villain." But all three characters see the mess they're in from a very different point of view. It's been interesting to see how different readers take the different characters' "sides." 

JR - GONE TOO FAR is your first hardcover. I know you've stated that it was just the right time for you to break out into hardcover, which I happen to agree with. Your SEAL books, both your mainstream and Mira (Silhouette reissues) of Team 10 SEALs, seem to be skyrocketing in popularity. I hope you plan on staying with this series for a long time (big grin)?

SB- Actually, I tried to talk my editor out of going hardcover with this book. But once I realized that I wasn't going to change anyone's mind at Ballantine, I focused my energy on requesting that the cover price be as affordable as possible. Which Ballantine did. This book has a list price of $19.95, which is extremely competitive, especially considering that the book is loooong. Ballantine also has created a $5 rebate coupon that they've made available in special GONE TOO FAR Chapter Sampler Booklets available in bookstores (or from me -- check my website for details). The coupon's also in the back of the reissues of THE UNSUNG HERO and THE DEFIANT HERO -- which is on sale this June at a special $3.99 price. And the coupon's available on line at http://www.BrockmannRebate.com With some of the discounts that booksellers provide, with this rebate, readers are going to be able to pick up this book, new, for just slightly more than a mass market paperback. 

Being published in hardcover is quite a career achievement for any writer -- especially a romance writer. It gives me a chance to widen my audience, to reach an additional group of readers. I'm very excited by this! 

And to answer the last part of your question -- neither of my two series are even close to ending! That's one of the joys of writing an open-ended series of books. I love going back and revisiting familiar characters! 

JR and WK - In GONE TOO FAR, the secondary story is about Max and Gina. Max is part of the counter terrorist unit of which he's Alyssa's boss. Without giving away any of the storyline, are you going to continue with this counter terrorist unit in their own series or just keep them as part of the Team 16 series?

SB- Counter terrorism works best when everyone works together -- both the military and the FBI. I've used these two groups together frequently in these books, and I'll continue to do so. But I do have plans to write books with FBI heroes. (Up to this point, all of the main heroes of the books have been SEALs.) My editor and I have been trying to figure out what I need to do (if anything) to set those books apart from the Troubleshooters series. Is it the same series? Is it different? 

I do know that it's not going to be too different -- that many of the secondary characters will cross over from one "series" to the other. (If, indeed, we do decide that they're different series. LOL!) 

I'm not going to say much about it, but I'm writing a book right now with the working title of FLASH POINT. (It has an April 2004 release date scheduled...) The hero of this book isn't a SEAL, and I decided to leave out the WWII subplot in this book. That's all the info I can give you about this book without angering the creativity gods. <g> 

JR - Whereas INTO THE NIGHT's secondary storyline was from Mary Lou's point of view, GONE TOO FAR tells Sam's story. We finally understand why he is the way he is, why he does things and how he became the person he is today. Did you enjoy all the speculation and discussions about Sam and Alyssa from book one?

SB-Oh, absolutely! The speculation has been lots of fun to read and hear. 

JR - There is also a World War Two story, as with all your other Team 16 books, that deals with the Tuskegee Airmen. What made you decide on this group of special men as the historic story?

SB- The Tuskegee Airmen -- African American fighter pilots and their crews -- were left out of many history books. I didn't even hear more than a brief mention of them until just a few years ago. I did some research, and the more I read and found out, the more I knew I wanted to help tell their story. Those guys could FLY! Talk about "the best of the best." Their record was incredible -- once the military let them up into the sky. 

WK - Ms. Brockmann you write two wonderful SEALs series, Team 10 &Team 16, do you ever find that some characters personalities cross over?

SB- No. Even the guys who are alike in many ways are very different to me. On the surface they might seem similar, but they're different people. 

For example, Kenny Karmody from Team Sixteen could be compared to Wes Skelly from Team Ten. They're both loudmouths, both have a natural talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. They're both fighters, they're both trouble magnets. But Kenny is more like an untrained puppy, if you know what I mean. There's enthusiasm in his outrageous behavior. There's an innocence to him. Most of the trouble he gets into comes from the fact that he's something of a ping-pong ball emotionally. He's just as likely to get into a fight for being too happy, you know? <g> 

Wes, on the other hand, has a great deal of unresolved anger inside of him. He's on a slow burn, his issues are darker, more complicated. His energy is nervous energy, he's more desperate than Ken. 

Each of the guys in both of the teams are different people, but because they're all SEALs, there are going to be some similarities! 

WK - Can you tell us who your favorite character in Team 10 is?

SB- That's a tough question. It changes with my mood. <g> Mostly Harvard. Or Jake. Jake really worked for me. <g> But I really loved writing Wes's book, too. (It's called NIGHT WATCH (it was formerly titled WILD WILD WES) and it's out this September from Silhouette Intimate Moments.) 

WK - Do you see an end for either of these series in the near future?

SB-Nope. <g> 

WK - Will any member of Team 10 have a longer novel?

SB- Nope. But this is a case of me having to say that I have a "never say never" policy. So I should probably change my answer to a "probably not, but ya never know." <g> 

WK - You have had a couple of your non-SEALs books published recently, LETTERS TO KELLY, and coming in July, SCENES OF PASSION. Do you have plans to write a new non-SEAL book in the future?

SB- Those books were both titles I wrote nearly ten years ago, when I was first starting out. My first book (FUTURE PERFECT) was published by Meteor Publishing Company, and after putting my book into print, they promptly sold off their business and shut their doors for good. (It was a crash course in Publishing -- boy, what a reality check for me! LOL!) They had, however, bought two other manuscripts of mine -- LTK and a book called MATTER OF TRUST, which got changed to LOVE SCENES, which more recently got changed to SCENES OF PASSION. After several years, the rights to those books reverted back to me. It's been a long time, but they're finally being published.

I rewrote SOP last summer -- gave it a total overhaul. (It really needed it! <g>) 

I don't have any plans to write any new non-Tall, Dark & Dangerous series romances in the future. And I'm currently writing a book that has a hero who's not a SEAL. But he is a counterterrorist, and the book is set in the Team Sixteen universe, so, it's not all that different. 

I'm sure one of these days I'll write a book that's completely non-related to my SEAL Team Sixteen world. I just don't want to break the momentum right now. I rely a lot on gut instincts, and my gut is telling me not to interrupt this series yet. 

I'd like to get to a place where I write one Troubleshooters/Team Sixteen book and one completely different book a year. I'm just not ready to do that yet. 

WK - In THE UNSUNG HERO, recently reissued, you have two characters David & Mallory--will we see these characters again, to find out what happened with them? Will we see Molly and Jones from OUT OF CONTROL again?

SB-You never know! <g> I have no immediate plans -- or if I do, I'm not prepared to talk about 'em. LOL! It's bad karma to give away details about where this series is going... (I hope you understand!) 

WK - Yes we do, doesn’t mean we like it, but we do understand. Have you noticed a change in reader's attitudes since 9-11?

SB- Yes. There are more readers picking up my books who are already educated about who and what a SEAL is, and what Spec War and Special Operations are. 

I think there's also been an increased desire on the part of some readers to find out more about the SEALs -- these guys are on the front lines in the War Against Terrorism. 

WK - Do you plan to expand to other Special Forces characters, like Rangers or Green Berets?

SB- Not at this point, no. 

WK - I know you are working on FLASHPOINT. Can you give us any hints on this book's storyline?

SB- No, I'm afraid I really can't -- too many spoilers for GONE TOO FAR. I can tell you that we've already written the blurb for the cover flap -- which is kind of a scary thing to do when the book isn't even half finished. Yikes! 

WK - In your books a lot of the women are strong, some military and some not, will you possibly do a book with the woman being the main focus and the man being a civilian?

SB- I'm sure I will at some point! 

WK & JR- One last question, is there any advice you'd give to upcoming writers, especially those with outside things going on, to help them with publishing?

SB- I think the best thing any writer can do to help her grow is to really analyze all pieces of fiction she encounters. Movies, TV, books -- she should always be asking herself "Do I like this? Do I *love* this? If so, why? Where did the writer hook me as a viewer or a reader?" And if she doesn't like what she's reading or watching, she should analyze that, too. "Where did they lose me as a viewer or a reader? What *don't* I like about this?" 

The other advice I'd give is to make writing a priority. Sit down at the computer every day and get some writing done. And finish a project before you start the next! LOL! 

Last but not least, allow yourself to dream big. Set goals for yourself that will constantly raise the bar. Reach for the stars! 

WK & JR- Ms. Brockmann we would like to thank you once again for taking the time to be here. If there is anything else you would like to discuss please feel free to do so.

SB- The only thing I'd like to add is that I'll be doing booksignings on the East Coast from NYC to Jacksonville, Florida from July 15 - 30th, 2003. You can check out my itinerary at my website appearances page at the following link: http://www.suzannebrockmann.com/appearances.htm 

I'm also holding a virtual signing for GONE TOO FAR. Readers interested in purchasing a signed book should check out those details on my website appearances page, too! 

Thanks so much! 

-- Suz 

Readers be sure to check out Ms. Brockmann's website at the following link:  http://www.suzannebrockmann.com for more information on her books. 

(Click here for Jennifer's review of GONE TOO FAR)

(Click here for Wendy's review of GONE TOO FAR)

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